[BoulderCouncilHotline] Update on South Boulder Creek Flood Mitigation

[Taddeucci, Joe]

Dear Council Members and Hotline followers,

Tomorrow night, City Council will be discussing CU South annexation and community engagement under “Matters from the City Manager<file:///C:/Users/BlooJ1/Downloads/Agenda_2020_11_17_Meeting(595).pdf>.” The staff presentation will include a brief discussion of the schedule relationship between the annexation process and the South Boulder Creek Flood Mitigation Project. Other than the flood portion of the schedule comparison, annexation will be the focus of tomorrow night’s meeting. To streamline tomorrow’s discussion on annexation, I am writing to provide a brief update on the flood project status, including a summary of upcoming process steps for which the flood project will be the point of emphasis.

Variant 1, 100-yr Flood Design and Permitting Status

  *   Civil design of the Variant 1, 100-yr flood preliminary design has been underway since June;
  *   The city’s consultants have prepared and submitted a draft baseline groundwater modeling report for city staff review;
  *   A draft of the Inflow Design Flood was completed in accordance with the State Engineer’s Guidelines;
  *   The project team is incorporating information from the recently completed geotechnical report into project design;
  *   The consulting firm, Lynker Technologies, has begun a report on the state of climate science to inform the flood project design process;
  *   Pre-application permitting conversations have begun with environmental regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers;
  *   Preliminary conversations are continuing with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), who is reviewing the city’s hydraulic flood modeling; and,
  *   The design and permitting process is anticipated to continue through roughly 2023.

Following staff review and incorporation of comments, we will continue to post the consultant’s project technical information to the project website<https://bouldercolorado.gov/flood/south-boulder-creek-flood-mitigation-project> as it becomes available.

Upstream Alternatives Analysis Status and Upcoming Process
Based on the Jun. 16, 2020 city council motion, staff has simultaneously continued conversations with council process subcommittee members and designated members of various boards on an “upstream analysis”. The analysis, requested in a Jun. 3, 2020 OSBT motion, proposed further consideration of a flood mitigation design concept to store water upstream of US36 as a possible means to avoid or reduce the impacts of the flood project to OSMP lands. Staff will review technical information covered and conclusions reached in related upstream advisory group meetings in a series of upcoming public meetings, which are as follows:


  *   Nov. 18 OSBT public hearing
  *   Dec. 3    Planning Board update under Matters
  *   Dec. 16 OSBT (open comment)
  *   Jan. 5     City Council meeting

The flood mitigation project will be the focus of the Jan. 5 City Council meeting, with emphasis on the upstream alternatives work. We look forward to discussing the project with the boards, council and the community. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Joe

Joe Taddeucci, P.E.
Director of Utilities
​ (pronouns: He/Him/His) What's This?<https://www.mypronouns.org/what-and-why>
[cid:image003.jpg at 01D6BC26.68038A90]
C: (720) 635-6970
taddeuccij at bouldercolorado.gov<mailto:taddeuccij at bouldercolorado.gov>
Public Works - Utilities Department
1739 Broadway | Boulder, CO 80302
bouldercolorado.gov<https://bouldercolorado.gov/>

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